vermilion: [13] Etymologically, vermilion is ‘worm’-coloured. The word comes from Old French vermeillon, a derivative of vermeil ‘vermilion’. This in turn came from Latin vermiculus ‘little worm’, a diminutive form of vermis ‘worm’ (source of English vermicelli, vermin, etc and related to English worm). The link between ‘worms’ and ‘red’ is that in the post-classical period, Latin vermiculus was used for the ‘kermes’, a sort of scale insect from which red dye was obtained. => vermin[vermilion etymology, vermilion origin, 英语词源]